The day England defied the odds

Cricket and betting have always gone hand in hand.

Since the early years of cricket, people have been placing bets on the odds of winning. The odds of winning the lottery in a lifetime are less than reaching the Moon. You might at one point land on the Moon but still, it might not be possible to win a lottery.

At Lottoland, the Irish lottery and a massive jackpot are what attracts the lottery fans. There are many lotteries available and now and then, the lotteries keep adding to the list which gives the gamers more chances to win.

One such bet was placed in the third Ashes Test Tournament in 1981 with England being completely out of the match. The chances of winning for England were thin since the game had slipped to an extreme odd of 500-1. The Australian bowler – Dennis Lilee commented that he does not bet on cricket as he won’t like anyone betting on when they lose. This match was the most remarkable turnaround in cricketing history.

Betting Against the Odds

During the match, there was a situation when Ian Botham was on 149 and not out while Bob Willis was on eight for 43. This resulted in a dazzling and commendable win by 18 runs but this did not sum up the story for the day. The two Australian stars of Cricket were allegedly named as the Bets Coup in the Australian Team.

The newspaper revealed that they received £7,500 against their own country regarding winning team England in the test match of Headingley. They were accused of making a bet when Ladbrokes displayed the chances of a 500-1 win for England against Australia. The two players were ecstatic with the idea and could resist betting £10 and £5 respectively on the loss of Australia (their own country) and the win of England (the opponents).

Everything happened out of excitement, thrill and the urge to not miss a once in a lifetime chance. The commentators were discussing the odds of winning against Australia since England was to follow. They believed no one has ever one under such circumstances since 1984.

The scoreboard administrator about the chances so he decided to put 500-1 chances on the board just to give dark humour to the audience. The humour rapidly turned into a real bet and people started piling up money to make a bet. On seeing this, there was an immediate hassle in the Australian changing room and Lillee decided to make the bet on behalf of the team from the team funds.

The idea was snickered by many players so he decided to bet for himself from his funds and also pushed Marsh to chip in to support him as a friend. He was so frantic to lose this once in a lifetime chance so he made the bet along with others chipping in the coins they had. Everything was just fun and thrilling and nothing more. In the end, Ladbrokes had to give away rewards work of £40,000 on the total bets of £25,000.

Although, there was a negation from Fred Bennett, the coach of the Australian team. He reported that he has confirmation from every member of the team and none of them involved in the act of going against their country. However, one of the players commented that it was supposed to be a bet against the country. It was just that the idea of England winning against the odds was so alien and hilarious that they couldn’t stop themselves from betting. This was like hitting the nail in the coffin since everyone was supposed to stay silent on the matter let alone accepting what the coach has already negated.

Truth revealed by one of them

On retirement in 1984, Lillee uncovered in his autobiography that he had without a doubt taken up the 500-1 chances as it was irresistible. The confirmation significantly steamed the other person that Headingley day – Rod Marsh who had been Lillee’s long-lasting mate and who had been trusting the claims would be neglected. Although, none of this fun-filled plan ever affected their performance, yet they were being criticized for playing along with England rather than their teams.

Since the win of England was completely against the odds, everyone blames them for making Australia lose. The coach still backed them up by confirming that none of it had anything to do with their performance.

Despite the odds, the increasing crowd on Australian cricket grounds in 1981 were gathering, a significant number of the visiting players and press had been attracted to Headingley to see the remarkable victory of England against the odds. Most of the winning cash went on the ponies as always. However, several bets were being offered on the cricket with more chances being given by Godfrey Evan – the wicketkeeper of England and Kent along with Ron Pollard – the chief of Ladbrokes.